Technical Abstract:
The learning outcome was to understand the important contribution of lean beef to total nutrient intake in diets of American adults and to determine dietary intake differences between lean beef consumers and non-consumers. The National Health and Nutritional Examination Survey, 1999-2004, 24-hour dietary recall data were used to examine nutrients provided by lean beef consumption in diets of adults 19-50 years (n=7049). Lean beef was defined by MyPyramid Equivalents Database as beef contributing less than 9.28 gram fat per 100 gram (excess was discretionary fat). The nutrient composition of lean beef in foods was calculated using the Food and Nutrient Database for Dietary Studies. Adults were classified by tertile of lean beef consumption. Sample-weighted means and standard errors were determined using SUDAAN. Consumption of lean beef contributed 3.9 percent to total energy, 4.5 percent to total fat, 3.8 percent to saturated fatty acid, and 12.9 percent to cholesterol intake. Consumption of lean beef provided a large percentage of protein (15 percent), total vitamin B-12 (25 percent), and zinc (23 percent). Lean beef was also an important food source of many other nutrients, for example, niacin (10 percent), riboflavin (5 percent), vitamin B-6 (9 percent), iron (8 percent), phosphorus (7 percent), potassium (6 percent), and magnesium (4 percent). Lean beef provided only 1 percent of total sodium intake. Lean beef contributed positively to diets of consumers, for example, total dietary intakes of protein, vitamin B-12, zinc, iron, and potassium were higher (p less than 0.01) than non-consumers for the top tertile of lean beef consumption (mean 6.4 ounces per day). Consumption of lean beef, as defined by MyPyramid, contributed significantly to intake of protein and key nutrients in diets of American adults.